Thoughts on the Yankees' 3rd game

[browntown653]

Yanks move to 2-1 tonight with a 3 to 2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. A few thoughts:

- Phil Hughes looked very good tonight. Located his fastball pretty well and had a pretty solid breaking ball. He worked out of trouble in the fifth inning and pitched 6 strong. I'd give him a solid B+ for the night and hope we see more of the same out of him.
- A-Rod looks like 06/04 A-Rod with two big strikeouts in big situations. Perhaps he only does this in even numbered years?
- Giambi had one not-so-good error in the second game but has looked pretty good other than that on defense. Not counting on him to be a Gold Glover, just saying.
- Damon swung the bat well tonight with two hard hit balls to right field, one a lineout and one a double to the right of Rios. He's a very key player at the top of this lineup.
- Mo gave up a single but looked real good otherwise. Beautiful pitch to end the game. Joba looked great in the 8th as well, and Traber/Bruney had a real nice seventh. A+ for the bullpen tonight.
On the Blue Jays side:
- Dustin McGowan is going to be a fantastic pitcher if he gets his control down. He had great stuff but started throwing the ball all over the place in the end which was his downfall. The Jays certainly have a good rotation this year if all holds up though.

A good game and good series. Now comes another tough one with the upstart DEVIL! Rays in the Stadium. Let's hope for another series win

[ljshorty89]

I wanna see how those two teams play after all the drama over spring training.

[NYgiantsfan5689]

Yanks move to 2-1 tonight with a 3 to 2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. A few thoughts:

- Phil Hughes looked very good tonight. Located his fastball pretty well and had a pretty solid breaking ball. He worked out of trouble in the fifth inning and pitched 6 strong. I'd give him a solid B+ for the night and hope we see more of the same out of him.
- A-Rod looks like 06/04 A-Rod with two big strikeouts in big situations. Perhaps he only does this in even numbered years?
- Giambi had one not-so-good error in the second game but has looked pretty good other than that on defense. Not counting on him to be a Gold Glover, just saying.
- Damon swung the bat well tonight with two hard hit balls to right field, one a lineout and one a double to the right of Rios. He's a very key player at the top of this lineup.
- Mo gave up a single but looked real good otherwise. Beautiful pitch to end the game. Joba looked great in the 8th as well, and Traber/Bruney had a real nice seventh. A+ for the bullpen tonight.
On the Blue Jays side:
- Dustin McGowan is going to be a fantastic pitcher if he gets his control down. He had great stuff but started throwing the ball all over the place in the end which was his downfall. The Jays certainly have a good rotation this year if all holds up though.

A good game and good series. Now comes another tough one with the upstart DEVIL! Rays in the Stadium. Let's hope for another series win

My reactions:
-Both pitchers looked phenomenal tonight, but they both had problems later in the game. I think they just need to get used to going deeper into games against major leaguers, and making adjustments. it looked to me like the experienced hitters began to make adjustments to the pitchers and the pitchers did not. i also just want to say that Phil Hughes' curveball was UNBELIEVABLE. he's going to have major success with that pitch. I give both of the starters A-'s
-We have to deal with Giambi's subpar defense because he hits so much better when he plays first. plus, he's really not that bad. he makes some very nice digs, and makes a diving stop or two on occation.
-Arod worries me, nothing else more to say here, except HERE WE GO AGAIN......i sure hope not......
-Agreed on the bullpen here. Joba once again b*tchslapped his inning. and the other guys looked good too.

[nyjunc]

I'll give ARod a pass for now but he's not off to a good start. The good news is we are getting pretty good starting pitching and the pen has been excellent so far. 2-1 is a good start aginst the pitching we faced the past 3 games.

[Dry1313]

Here's the deal...

Giambi doesn't hit drastically better, he goes from like .260 to .270, I mean, that isn't why he should be at first...it's that it means more DH time for Matsui, Damon and Posada, guys we need to keep fresh.

Don't worry about ARod...seriously. He isn't going to get a hit in the clutch everytime.

Pitching and Bullpen have been nasty...AS I PREDICTED.

Methinks we can keep this up too

[NYgiantsfan5689]

Pitching and Bullpen have been nasty...AS I PREDICTED.

You and every other yankee fan on this forum. It's the doubters from the other teams that keep saying Yankee pitching is going to falter.

[Dry1313]

You and every other yankee fan on this forum. It's the doubters from the other teams that keep saying Yankee pitching is going to falter.

I said our bullpen would be top 3 in the majors...so far:

8 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 2 SV, 1 Hold, 1 Win...

Something tells me that might be the Top 3 in the majors.

[browntown653]

Giambi doesn't hit drastically better, he goes from like .260 to .270, I mean, that isn't why he should be at first...it's that it means more DH time for Matsui, Damon and Posada, guys we need to keep fresh.

Actually, his AVG is 60+ points higer at 1B compared to DH.

[catman]

How many runs does he cost the team when he plays defense, however?
Giambi has made a nice comeback from his "illness" of a few years back, but his defense is not even adequate. He is a better DH than a 1B, by far.

[NYgiantsfan5689]

How many runs does he cost the team when he plays defense, however?
Giambi has made a nice comeback from his "illness" of a few years back, but his defense is not even adequate. He is a better DH than a 1B, by far.

He's really not that bad at defense. He made a ridiculous leaping catch in game 2 of the series, and he made some nice diving stops too, along with a very nice scoop in game 1. He's really improved his defense

[Dry1313]

Actually, his AVG is 60+ points higer at 1B compared to DH.

I call bullshit...

Or are we factoring in his .234 seasons where he couldn't hit the ball because he was on steroids?

Show me proof.

How many runs does he cost the team when he plays defense, however?
Giambi has made a nice comeback from his "illness" of a few years back, but his defense is not even adequate. He is a better DH than a 1B, by far.

He doesn't COST any...however, he doesn't help any either...that's the problem.

He's really not that bad at defense. He made a ridiculous leaping catch in game 2 of the series, and he made some nice diving stops too, along with a very nice scoop in game 1. He's really improved his defense

Well, as long as he keeps this up, it really is nice to have everyone able to DH

[browntown653]

I call bullshit...

Jason Giambi Career Batting Splits - Baseball-Reference PI

As 1B: .309/.433/.575/1.008 in 3,627 ABs
As DH: .246/.385/.476/.861 in 1,544 ABs

In his horrific 04 season he was terrible at both 1B and DH -
.688 OPS in 195 PAs at 1st, .765 OPS in 122 PAs at DH

Taking for example, his MVP season of 2000:
As 1B: .348/.491/.678/1.169 in 554 PAs
As DH: .259/.396/.506/.902 in 106 PAs
Small sample size and not the same Giambi, but a definite 1B improvement there.

I could go season to season, but don't feel like it.

[browntown653]

One more note: 06 he was much better as a 1B, 07 as a DH even though last year was just a wash in general if you ask me.

[bwitty24]

I am getting sick and tired of Giambi. I think he's washed up and I would rather have more at bats go to the likes of Shelley Duncan or Morgan Ensberg. Giambi used to be good, but his occasional home run just doesn't do it for me anymore. The Yankees have been developing a ton of new talent, why not try and do the same with Duncan by giving him more at bats.

As for the game, I only got to see the first couple of innings because Charlie Wilson was speaking at our school last night. Hughes was pretty dominant in those first two innings which was nice to see. I also watched Joba own and it was great.

Speaking of Joba, I couldn't believe all the talk about him and his in game excitement. I don't know how people can think that he is mocking the players he strikes out. You can see it in his eyes how determined he is. Getting into the game is what players are supposed to do and the hitters understand that.

[browntown653]

Good post bwitty, I'd give you rep but I've given out too much in the past 24 hours. It will come.

I think the Joba thing is ridiculous as well, and deserves its own thread.